The present invention relates to devices for cleaving semiconductor wafers, laser bars, and other products and workpieces. The present invention also relates to methods and systems for cleaving semiconductor devices and other products.
It is known to form laser diodes, photodetectors and other products from semiconductor wafers. During the fabrication of such products, the wafers may be separated or cleaved into laser bars. The resulting bars may be further cleaved into discrete semiconductor chips, if desired. Thus, a known method of forming semiconductor products involves scribing or scoring a semiconductor wafer, followed by cleaving the wafer along the scribed or scored lines.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,717 (Broom et al.) describes a method in which a semiconductor wafer is scribed and then placed between two transport bands. The transport bands are guided around a curved surface having a large radius. The surface applies a bending moment to the scribe lines to cleave the wafer. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,719,077 (Chakrabarti et al.) describes an apparatus that holds a semiconductor workpiece between a fixed jaw and a rotatable jaw. The rotatable jaw rotates to cleave the semiconductor workpiece.
The use of mechanically applied pressure to cleave laser bars and other brittle or fragile products may result in uneven or ragged cleaved edges. In particular, mechanical pressure on the laser bars may cause cracking, splitting, breaking or other damage. If a semiconductor product with an uneven cleaved surface is incorporated into an optical device, such as a laser, an insufficient light output or complete failure of the device may occur.